Butchart Gardens Tour: Saanich Peninsula Exploration
3.9
14 Ratings
Victoria
Embark on a guided tour of the breathtaking Butchart Gardens on the Saanich Peninsula. Explore stunning displays, historical fountains, and picturesque scenery on this customizable, small-group adventure.
Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

The Butchart Gardens draw more than a million visitors to the Saanich Peninsula every year to experience world-class gardens and incredible scenery. Designated a National Historic Site due to its international acclaim, the gardens offer vibrant displays of verdant plant life and scenic pathways, allowing visitors incredible opportunities to explore graceful fountains, recreated Japanese temples, and renaissance-inspired displays. 

This 3-hour tour starts with a pickup from any Victoria-based hotel or lodging. After meeting the driver and tour host, travel through 30 minutes of strikingly lush, natural scenery en route to the gardens. The guide will intersperse bad jokes and personal anecdotes with a careful narration of the history and details of the Saanich Peninsula. He/she will provide the necessary context to truly understand the Butchart Gardens, helping travelers appreciate the unique qualities that make the displays a national treasure. Admission to Butchart Gardens is not included.

The elaborate gardens include an incredible diversity of recreated landscapes from all over the world, such as the Japanese Garden, English Rose display, and the Italian Star pond, featuring a statue of Mercury. Take approximately 90 minutes to smell the naturally perfumed air and photograph the bright colors before heading back to the guide to solicit a recommendation for the best place to eat lunch.  

After completing the visit, ride back to Victoria to a centrally located hotel or bed and breakfast for a complimentary drop-off or airport/ferry exchange.

Points of Interest

  • Victoria
What's Included
  • Private tour of Butchart Gardens from Victoria
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Driver and guide included
  • Fully narrated tour
What's Not Included
  • Butchart Gardens entrance fee
  • Transportation to/from Ferry terminal, cruise terminal, or airport ($5 per person fee)
Additional Information

Embark on a 3-hour guided tour from Victoria, British Columbia, to one of the world’s most exquisite gardens. Experience the aromatic arrays of flora and meticulously replicated historical fountains amidst the stunning vistas of the Saanich Peninsula. This comprehensive, intimate group tour can be tailored to accommodate private groups. Please be aware that entry to Butchart Gardens is separate.

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Subject to favorable weather conditions. If canceled due to poor weather, an alternative date or full refund will be offered
  • The tour inside the gardens has an additional entrance fee and is self guided as required by Butchart Gardens management.
Location
Victoria
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.9
(14 Ratings)
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Timh901
Aug 24, 2023
Valuable Victoria/Butchart tour - What a breath of fresh air! Reserving, pickup, tour, payment were all made very easy by Keith Kiki Fraser owner of Adanac Shuttle. Keith picked 6 of us up, including one with a scooter, at the cruise dock and took us to Butchart. He was informative along on the way and made sure we knew what to do and see at Butchart. After the visit he gave us a brief tour of downtown Vancouver because of our own time constraints. He is friendly and helpful. The best part was his very reasonable price. After going on 4 cruise/private tours in Alaska, I can guarantee you that his was the best service with the best price. We finally had a tour that was worth the value. Thank you, Keith.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Janis_p
Jul 8, 2023
Shawn’s history knowledge... - Shawn’s history knowledge was amazing and very informative. The experience was perfect it was wonderful
Review provided by Viator
Yuriy
Jun 10, 2023
Trip to the garden - I highly recommended this business. Richard was very knowledgeable and gave an overview of the history. We learned so much from Richard and he was also the best driver which was a plus.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Diana_d
May 14, 2022
Gardens are incredibly... - Gardens are incredibly beautiful! Very nice walk without pressure at our own pace. Food was surprisingly fresh and tasty.
Review provided by Viator
Anonymous
Sep 20, 2023
Beautiful, But Not Enough Time - Sunken Garden was highlight; we, however, didn't have enough time for Rose Garden & Japanese Garden. I was good that we were one of the few visitors at the time. Also, Viator really messed up with communications with Kiki the vendor! You refused to verify my reservation with them, which held up the whole process, while they insisted I pay them directly, since you were refusing to pay them; it took them an hour on the phone with you to finally straighten things out with you. Meanwhile, we had a lot less time at Butchart Gardens with Butchart Gardens stating they weren't dealing with you as a vendor at all & that they would not honor anything with you & we'd have to pay full price, not even any discounts offered! With all this, we were disappointed that all this cut at least an hour off our time at the Gardens, which is primarily Viator's fault in total miscommunication with us all! Please correct this in the future or you'll be losing lots of potential customers!! We do expect you to do something to help compensate for your treatment of us and the vendor. Thanks so much, Ira
Review provided by Viator
Andrey_l
Sep 17, 2022
Nice excursion - Gardens are very beautiful! It was really worth to go. It is real Victoria gem! I am glad that Canadian border was transparent
Review provided by Viator
Angela_h
Aug 29, 2023
Decent Uber ride - This excursion turned out to be more of an Uber ride. The driver was very friendly and a good driver. He did give a guided tour of the City, but unfortunately didn't have a microphone. Only the people in the front of the van could hear him. The other 5 of us couldn't hear anything.
Review provided by Viator
Helene_k
Oct 3, 2023
Garden tour on our own was great but not by your company’s support - It was not what we had expected of a fully narrated tour as sold to us. We could have driven our rental car for much cheaper than $266 for 34 minUte ride.
Review provided by Viator
Randi_c
Oct 22, 2022
Need a refund - The tour guide never showed up and when I called him he said it had been cancelled. I would like my $275 refunded that I paid for this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Denise_p
May 28, 2022
False Advertising! - We did not receive a narrated tour of Buchart gardens! Our driver stayed at the car while we went into the garden. Also, admission was not included into the park. Also, she was not a good driver, and slammed on the brakes when she almost ran a stop sign. Asked her if she knew the story behind the gardens as well. She said I’ve never been there!! $325 for 4 hrs for a car ride… what a joke and rip off!
Review provided by Viator
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up to 15 guests
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May 2024
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